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On June 13, high school pianist Sturdy Adams received the "Dick Conte Jazz Piano Scholarship," a yearly scholarship program awarded by The Jazzschool in Berkeley to a promising young piano student to further his jazz studies at the school.



Pianist Dick Conte, Sturdy Adams, and Jazzschool Director
Susan Muscarella (Photo by Stuart Brinin)

Adams, 16, will be a high school junior this fall. He has been playing piano for most of his life, starting with classical music at age five, and adding jazz to his studies at age 12. He attended The Crowden School of Music for part of middle school, and studied musicianship and theory at the San Francisco Music Conservatory.

Currently, the young pianist studies jazz in the Marin Academy music program and at The Jazzschool in Berkeley, and performs locally in several groups, including classic jazz duo and trio formats with Dartanyan Brown, a Latin jazz band and a funk/fusion band. He also writes and performs his own compositions.

Congrats to this talented youg pianist. We expect to be hearing more — much more — in the coming years!